[M.Acorn]

Quoted on a big one on Wed,lady had sold the house and wanted over £200 worth of carpet cleaning,carpet almost new,but she just wanted a freshen up for the new folks,got a call this morning saying not to bother coming next week,although they are nearly new,new owners are going to replace the lot  .
Also had another £200 + job booked for this arvo,sent her a text on Tue,just to remind her i was coming today,turns out she has gastro enteritis,so has had to postpone me for a couple of weeks  .
Been a pretty rubbish week for me really,roll on Monday when i have some work booked..

[wynne jones]

Moderators

Can you put this in the new pity party section please.

I really think we need one judging by recent posts.

Sorry Mark.

[derek west]

the saturday just gone, i had 800 quid booked in for this week, by sunday i had 300 cos of cancellations, total for the week 1150.
ya never know whats round the corner in this game. and ive got the weekend off, woopdedooooooo.

[Neil Williams]

I hardly ever remind a customer that I am due in a few days but a job booked for this coming Monday had the alarm bells ringing.
When he called the other day he sounded about 17 and not very bright, didn't even know the size of the room. He did give the name of the person it was for and the phone number he gave me was different to the one he called on. So I wasn't convinced.
Called the number he said to call on and the person didn't seem to know anything about the booking, then we called the his number his answer was that he didn't know if there would be anyone there on Monday afternoon.
I scrubbed the job, and filled it with someone else who I can actually trust.

So yes we'd better have a new section for 'bad hair days.'

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

I didn't work on Tuesday due to a heavy cold, so when I went to work Wednesday I was still feeling rough but it was a decent job.

Got stuck in traffic so phoned ahead to say I was running late, the Nanny answered and said no problem.

Cleaned 3 beds, Lounge, Diner, Study, Stairs, Landing, minging Hall and minging Rug.

Very happy with the end results and started packing away.

It was only then that the Nanny dropped the bombshell that she had just spoken to her boss, my client, and she had completely forgotten I was coming and therefore hadn't left a cheque.

Told the Nanny I wasn't at all pleased and if she had told me when I first got there that no payment had been left, I wouldn't even had started the job, especially as I felt so rough.

The best of it is, I really didn't want to work that day, but I felt bad about cancelling at such short notice - and she didn't even remember I was coming.

Oh, and the cheque hasn't arrived yet - bloody customers !

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I did a doctors surgery carpets and a fogging, the receptionist just booked it and and said give them the price when I arrived, I arrived gave them a price and she said OK I'll get the doctors to sort a cheque. Did the cleaning and as I'm packing away she appears and says "how much did you say again?" so told her again and then she states that the doctors have now gone home and she'll send a cheque in the post.

Only done yesterday so I'm waiting with baited breath (but not holding it!)

Shaun

[M.Acorn]

Got a cheque last week £235.00 And even though i put clearly on the invoice,to be made out too,my surname,they still mad it out to my business  Called them last Friday and told them to send another,still waiting  week later.
On the other hand,got called by an air con company last week,could i go and get greasy foot prints of their logo`ed door mat,did job,went to ask about who to make invoice out to,and got paid there and then

[elliott cleaning]

Mark

If I as a business asked for a service to be provided & the tech/ owner gave me his company's invoice & asked for payment to be made in his name - forget it,  no way. 
If you invoice as a business - you have to be expected to be paid as a business

Shaun/Steve

Half my domestic clients don't pay on the day - partially because they ain't there & the rest probably because I don't stand there waiting for payment.    Payment always comes within a few weeks, so it's no issue.     Last time I got caught out was six years ago with someone who moved overseas.    Am I tempting fate by posting this 

[Neil Williams]

If I as a business asked for a service to be provided & the tech/ owner gave me his company's invoice & asked for payment to be made in his name - forget it,  no way. 
If you invoice as a business - you have to be expected to be paid as a business

I was thinking the same, and if nothing else it stinks of tax avoidance.

[M.Acorn]

I am only a sole trader,i pay my tax,did have a business account,but closed it as i was sick of being charged to pay in cash and cheques

[derek west]

cheques always through the business, always.

[Adam Fearnley]

I never do, never.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Perhaps it's a Surrey thing not being paid but I prefer to bring something home to the wife at the end of the day but then again my customers aren't dripping in jewellery and putting an 'h' in front of every word (it's usually a 't')

Shaun

[happy mondays]

I am only a sole trader,i pay my tax,did have a business account,but closed it as i was sick of being charged to pay in cash and cheques

Alot of high street banks offer free business banking, for 12 - 18 - 24 months, just keep changing banks, they are always glad of your business, Ive used and abused them all over the years if your a sole trader you can just open an account as Joe Smith trading as JS carpet cleaning services, ask them to make it payable to Joe Smith, have a personal account with the same bank, put it into that and do an online transfer into the business account, that will be free, so even if you do get charged for deposits, this way it would be free. Roger Peach, Doc carpet will advise you on this.

But to put it into perspective, I was the MD of a business turning over around £350.000 a year, all invoices were paid by cheque or bacs, bank charges were on average only about £40.00 - £50.00 a month, if you cant be ar##d changing banks, just add a few pence to your customers bill.

Kind regards,

Westy

[derek west]

alliance and leicester (now santander) is free banking, been with them 3 years now and never paid a penny, you have to watch em though.

[John Kelly]

Co Op bank totally free.

[Neil Williams]

Am I missing something here?
People are concerned about saving some money on bank charges (which are tax deductable and make things easier for accountant) yet could probably save the same amount of money by driving a bit slower or buying more economical products.
I could go on and on but it would be wasted on too many.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

You have got to make more profit than before to pay much needed tax for the government

Shaun

[wayne zabel]

When I went full time CC 2 months ago I saw an accountant who advised me to just use my personal bank account and ask for any cheques to be payable to "wayne zabel"

He said I dont need to open a business account,was this bad advice?

[M.Acorn]

When I went full time CC 2 months ago I saw an accountant who advised me to just use my personal bank account and ask for any cheques to be payable to "wayne zabel"

He said I dont need to open a business account,was this bad advice?

That is exactly what my accountant said, i have no reason to doubt him

[derek west]

When I went full time CC 2 months ago I saw an accountant who advised me to just use my personal bank account and ask for any cheques to be payable to "wayne zabel"

He said I dont need to open a business account,was this bad advice?

he's obviously oblivious to how much carpet cleaners can make. he probably thinks its just carpet cleaning, he'll never turn over more than £500 quid a week,

believe it or not, having a business account makes life so much easier when it comes to doing your books,

[wayne zabel]

£500 a week I wish

Us newbies are lucky to turn over half that.

Seriously I did tell him that I would be happy to make 20/25k a year whilst I was trying to get established,and quite honestly thats all I'm expecting for the first couple of years.Whether thats why he told me not to bother with a business account I dont know.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

A few thoughts......

If you can find a bank which will give you free business banking then fine but like everthing else in life (including using a cc) there will be pluses and minuses to it.

When we buy chemicals some will be more expensive than a competitor's chemicals, but we pay the extra because we believe the ones we purchase will do a better job.

Forget bankers and bonuses when thinking about the present problems-that's investment banking and nothing really to do with high street, retail banking which is what this thread is about.

Retail banking is like any other business and it expects to be paid for the service it provides inter alia converting a piece of paper ie. a cheque, into the means that you can buy other things with it. They're non too pleased if you try and evade their published tariff just in the same way as we as cc's aren't too pleased if our clients try and barter down our prices or short change us or get us to throw in a rug clean for free or.....you get my drift.

Neil, technically I think you mean tax evasion not tax avoidance. Avoidance is legitimate, evasion isn't.

Nothing wrong per se with an accountant advising you to use a private account but if you get investigated then trying to seperate out your private transactions from your business transactions in this personal account becomes one heck of a difficult job. And guess what your accountant will charge you for his time in trying to remedy it (his bill will almost certainly come to a lot more than the costs of running a business account) whilst you are bricking it that HMRC will be thinking that you are trying to evade taxes and will maybe charge you a penalty.

Clarity does have its advantages.

Rog

[M.Acorn]

Just about all the stuff going through the account is business related in my case,i also have a joint account for the running of the house,personal stuff.
All my fuel,even a % of what goes in my Scirocco,gets claimed back,as i use it for going out to quote jobs,at £1.27 p per litre ,i need too

[Neil Williams]

Just about all the stuff going through the account is business related in my case,i also have a joint account for the running of the house,personal stuff.
All my fuel,even a % of what goes in my Scirocco,gets claimed back,as i use it for going out to quote jobs,at £1.27 p per litre ,i need too

I give up on giving you advice on this.
Go and get a 2nd opinion from a charters accountant.
Failing that join the FSB just incase you get an inspection.

[Neil Grainger]

Neil

I am with them, always payment on completion and payment in my name. Never walk from Job without payment be domestic or commercial. People that dont want to pay on the day are just trying to drag it out in my mind. Even British Gas want payment on completion for emergency boiler repairs if you dont have an account with them. It the way the world should be.

Most companies wont mind and have never ever had a problem. My chartered account said to do this I have 2 personal accounts with lloyds and one busines that the DD are in i just transfer enough every month to pay them.

Banks earn enough from me so why should i pay for my own money to be paid to my acount. Alot of my customers are doing Direct transfer now and not any cheques at all.

[M.Acorn]

Banks earn enough from me so why should i pay for my own money to be paid to my acount. Alot of my customers are doing Direct transfer now and not any cheques at all.
   

2nd` ed

[Neil Williams]

My final word on this.
Let's get this right, there is nothing illegal or technically wrong with using your personal account for business transactions, BUT, from an administration point it can become a nightmare and drawn out process if at the end of the year you have business and personal transactions from the same place.
This in turn makes the accountants job untangling all this a much more drawn out process, which will probably cost you more (accountants fees) than paying a few pounds per month in bank fees.
I'd like to know how you get paid for all your comercial jobs on the day. What do you do? Hold the PA at gun point until the cheque book is found???

MD. I might have misread your comment about claiming fuel back for the car, if what you actually meant was that you have a 'nominated' private vehicle which you keep a milage log for, and then claim back the 40p (or so) per mile when using it for business use.

But like I said those of you who want to do it that way just carry on.

[Neil Grainger]

Wont do the Job Neil if they dont pay, its that simple. Always explain that payment on completion and most are happy with this.

I todays market why would you leave yourself open to a business going under or not paying because they have no cash flow. You just got to look at connaught for that. Even the area's biggest Estate agents i work for are payment on completion.